My Husband's Affair My Anniversary Gift (Lily and David) novel Chapter 321

Riyana stood inside the elevator, her back resting lightly against the cold metal wall. The soft hum of the machine moving downward filled the quiet space. She had just finished her session with Lennox, her body tired but her mind even heavier.

The elevator slowed, then stopped.

The doors slid open.

She stepped out, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. Her thoughts were scattered. For a brief moment, she told herself to breathe, to calm down, to get through it like she always did.

Her phone vibrated in her hand.

She didn’t even look at the screen at first. Her instinct told her it was Jabco. Lately, he had been checking on her more often, asking when she finished, where she was. She pulled the phone out as she walked, her steps unhurried.

Then she saw the message.

Her steps stopped.

Her heart dropped so suddenly it felt like someone had punched her chest.

When are you going to send me the money? I don’t have time.

Her fingers went cold.

For a second, she couldn’t even breathe properly. The hallway around her blurred, the voices and footsteps of others fading into the background. That voice. Those words. Even written on a screen, they carried the same pressure, the same threat.

Her father.

Her hands trembled as she typed, her thumbs moving faster than her thoughts.

Give me two days. I’ll send the money.

She pressed send almost immediately, like delaying even a second would bring consequences.

The phone felt heavy in her palm.

She knew what this meant.

She had no real choice.

He was her father. That word alone tied her hands. If she went to the police, they would see it as a family matter. If she caused trouble, it would come back to her mother.

And that was the last thing she wanted. Her mother had finally built a peaceful life. A new family. A quiet happiness.

Riyana refused to be the reason that peace was destroyed.

She slipped the phone back into her bag and walked out of the building.

The evening air hit her face, cool and sharp. The sky was slowly darkening, the city lights beginning to glow. Normally, this was the part of the day she liked. The end of work. The promise of rest.

But today, her chest felt tight.

Her eyes moved instinctively toward the familiar black car parked near the entrance.

Jabco.

She slowed slightly.

That morning, when she woke up, he hadn’t been there. The bed had been empty, the room quiet. He had left a short note on the table. A meeting. Don’t wait for me.

She hadn’t expected him to come.

So seeing his car made her pause.

She took a step toward it.

Then something else caught her eye.

Another car, parked not too far behind Jabco’s.

Her breath caught.

The window rolled down.

A man leaned slightly out, his face unfamiliar, his smile wrong. Too deliberate. Too bold. His eyes moved over her slowly, openly, like he wasn’t even trying to hide it.

Riyana’s heart slammed against her ribs.

Then she saw another face inside the car. And another.

Her stomach dropped.

She knew immediately.

They were not random men.

They were there for her.

Sent by him.

Her fingers curled tightly around her bag strap. Her palms were damp. She felt exposed, standing there in the open, in front of Lennox’s apartment, with Jabco’s car right there and those men watching her like they owned the ground beneath her feet.

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